The Kerry Campaign has used a number of surrogates to fend off the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks against the Democratic nominee for president, but one surrogate it hasn't used yet on the issue is Wesley Clark.

Maybe Clark might still have some animosity with Kerry for undercutting the general's war-time performance, as Kerry did on this edition of- you guessed it - Hardball:

MATTHEWS: There are two men in this campaign who are running who have military background. You've got a couple of stars, medals and so does General Clark. Compare you with him.

KERRY: Well I have great respect for General Clark, but he has been a military man all his life. He has been a general.

MATTHEWS: Is he a headquarters guy and you're a field guy?

KERRY: He has generally been. No, he was in the field at one point, but very little in his career. By and large General Clark has not had the breadth of experience in foreign policy and I think there's an enormous difference between us. I have spent 35 years-you know when I came back from Vietnam, I stood up and fought against the war. I've...

MATTHEWS: Well how did he get a Silver Star if he wasn't in action?

KERRY: I said he was. I said he had...

MATTHEWS: Right.

KERRY: ... one brief, I believe, tour in the field like that, and then he as a general. Look, I'm not disrespectful of General Clark, but there's a difference between us in the levels of our experience. There's also a difference in the values that we fought for through a lifetime. When General Clark was voting for Richard Nixon and voting for Ronald Reagan, I was fighting against both of them.

Was Clark's tour "in-country" in Vietnam longer or shorter than the four months Kerry served?

Well, here's Clark's official bio:

From 1969 to 1970, Captain Clark served in Vietnam. In February 1970, he was wounded in battle. He suffered gunshot wounds to the right shoulder, right hand, right hip and right leg. For his valor, he earned the Silver Star.

That's four more gunshot wounds than Kerry, for those keeping score. That would appear pretty serious for someone who spent "very little" time in the field.